Phoenix
by Yume no Anime
Summary: Co-authored with Bright. AU Quatre's life is changed forever once he learns that he holds the spirit of the legendary Phoenix. He is dragged into a war between Man and Beast. Can he stop the war with the help of his new friends?
1. Beginnings

Ag- Hello there! I know! I'm bad! But it's up now. That should be good enough. I'll try to update pt 2 next month, just don't be mad at me!  
  
Phoenix  
  
The giant bird looked down upon the people he once protected. The fiery feathers ruffled for a moment as he stood on the grass hill. The firebird closed his eyes before he spoke.  
  
"You wish me gone? After the centuries I spent protecting you and your ancestors?"  
  
"You are a beast like the others," said a man. "You say you will protect us but you may turn on us."  
  
"Yes, I am a beast creature but I have sworn to protect you. But," sighed the phoenix, "I will honor your wishes." The bird opened his wings. "I will end my life but I will be reborn as one of you. And when you're in need of my help I will rise again."  
  
The phoenix was engulfed in flames, burning it's self alive. When the fire left, the ground where the bird had stood was burnt, but it's body gone. Out of respect for the creature, the people built a tower over the death sight. Engraved on the wall was the tale of the phoenix. Hidden in the back of the tower these words burnt into the wall:

A boy of mortal and of beast   
Heart of gold and eyes of the sea   
Sunlight forever glows upon his head 

A boy of mortal and of beast   
Find him when in need   
Fire runs through his veins   
A boy of mortal and of beast   
What he is, he does not know 

Guard him well, chosen ones   
Solitary dragon,   
Silent elf,  
Mischievous imp,  
Emotionless mercenary   
A boy of mortal you must guard   
'Till mortal beast he becomes

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Quatre walked through the forest to his home, the sun shining on his golden head. His lessons with Dr. H were over for the day. Dr. H taught him in self-defense, academics, and magic. Quatre didn't really care for fighting but he had to learn it. Dr. H said that he had unusual magic abilities. One of his talents was the ability to read emotions. From the time he was young he was able to read emotions. It was so out of control that he was in pain when surrounded by crowds of people. Next came his ability to heal faster than normal. With Dr. H, Quatre was able to discover that he had a healing ability. Now he understood what happened every time he touched a wounded creature. Because of his inexperience with his power, it drained him to heal so he would fall unconscious, the animal running off.  
  
A wolf jumped on him, causing him to fall onto his back.  
  
Well, not all the animals he healed ran off. Fang had stayed by his side until he awoke. Even then the gray wolf did not leave. He became loyal to Quatre.  
  
The blonde laughed as Fang's pink tongue ran across his face. "Fang, stop it." After one final lick the wolf complied. Quatre scratched Fang's head. "Let's get back before Father and Irena send Rashid to look for me."  
  
Irena was Quatre's older sister that just loved to baby him. Rashid was a loyal servant and guard. He had been with the family for as long as Quatre could remember. He seemed to act as the boy's babysitter though.  
  
Quatre stood and began his trek home again with Fang. Suddenly he became dizzy. His body felt as if it was on fire. These strange spells had been happening since he was a baby. But, for some reason, they were coming faster than normal and of late. Quatre fell on his hands and knees. Fang whimpered besides him.  
  
Everything seemed to fold into darkness, the shadows watched as he suffered.  
  
Quatre's arms collapsed, unable to hold his weight any longer. Aquamarine eyes slowly slid shut as sleep overtook him.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Heero Yuy walked over to a tree. Cobalt blue eyes spotted a slender boy sitting on a branch. "Trowa," he called in his emotionless voice, "do you sense anything?"  
  
An emerald eye looked at Heero, the other hidden a bang of brown hair. "Yes. There's a large magical serge up ahead."  
  
"He's awakening then," stated Heero. Trowa merely nodded in response.  
  
He jumped down from the tree. "Duo's coming. Wufei's not far behind."  
  
Heero grunted in response. In moments of the elf's statement, a boy with long chestnut brown hair tied in a braid came running though the bush. He was followed by an Asian boy, black hair tied in a small ponytail, swinging a kanata.  
  
"Come back here, Maxwell!" shouted the Asian.  
  
"No way Wu-man!" said Duo as he ducked behind Heero, his impish tail wagging.  
  
"Don't call me that! My name is Wufei!"  
  
"Wufei, put your sword away. We need him to complete our mission," Heero said in a dead, commanding voice.  
  
Grumbling, Wufei complied. Duo jumped from behind the mercenary and stuck his tongue at the dragon hybrid.  
  
"You can kill him after our mission and I'll help." Heero turn and walked toward Trowa. "You can bruise him for the time being. But right now, we're going to find the chosen."  
  
"Cool!" Duo bounded over, seeming to forget the threat on his life for all his pranks. Wufei followed, envisioning himself in his dragon form squashing the troublesome imp.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Quatre opened his eyes. He felt like he was burning up. His back ached, feeling as if something was fighting its way out. He vaguely heard Fang whimper beside him. He was in so much pain. This never happened before, he thought. He felt like he was bathed in flames. Sweat trickled down his face.  
  
"Fang," Quatre panted, "go get...help." Fang licked his master's hand before using all the strength in him to run and get help.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Rashid walked along the dirt path that his young master would be on. He heard barking and instantly knew it was Fang. The wolf ran up to the large man and barked at him before running back the way he came. Rashid followed, fearing for his young charge.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Quatre's back arched as he let out a painful cry. From his back sprouted fiery read wings. The wings unfurled, sprinkling the boy's blood like rain. The blonde collapsed once again, physically drained. But before his eyes closed, he watched as flaming feathered wings fell on top of his small form.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"It's done," said Heero at the sound of the scream.  
  
"That must've hurt," winced Duo. "Glad I'm not the chosen."  
  
"The world is glad," muttered Wufei.  
  
"We better go. Someone else may have heard him," Trowa said. The group ran toward the direction came from, hoping to get there before someone unwanted did."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Rashid ran harder then he thought he could when he heard the scream. He knew it was Quatre. And he was in pain. He hoped that he wasn't too late.  
  
When Rashid had a clear view of something that was lying on the path, he stopped. Fang ran forward to the form. A pair of red-orange wings lay across Quatre's prone form. Hazel eyes noticed spots of blood on the grass. Rashid gasped and ran to the boy.  
  
Rashid knelt down and gently touched Quatre's back. Wet blood covered pale skin, small shreds of cloth stuck to the boy's back. The giant took a cloth from his pocket and carefully rubbed away some blood, grateful when he saw that the boy's healing ability had worked.  
  
Rashid lifted Quatre so his head would lie on his chest. "Quatre, wake up. Quatre." He shook the boy lightly. The usually calm and composed man was confused and worried. He didn't know what to do. Should he bring the boy home or to Professor H? Before he could make a decision, four beings stepped from the trees.  
  
The first had an air of authority. Unruly brown hair barely hid cobalt blue eyes. By the way of dress, Rashid figured he was a mercenary in his loose green shirt and dark blue pants. Black boots were slightly caked with mud. A sword hung at the boy's side in a red sheath.  
  
To this boy's right stood an imp, dark tail scribbling in the dirt. The imp's pointed ears were barely hidden by a long braid of chestnut hair. Dressed in baggy black clothes and black boots. Violet eyes looked at the scene with sadness and understanding swirling in their depths.  
  
The tallest of the group was an elf, his pointed ears obvious evidence. A bang of brown hair covered one emerald eye. The elf wore a thin green sweater and brown pants. A quiver of arrows was thrown over his shoulder, the bow in his hand.  
  
The last was a foreigner. Black hair was tied in a small tight ponytail. He wore a white sleeveless silk shirt and pants, a deep blue sash was tied around his waist. Wooden sandals cover his feet. Dark onyx eyes studied Rashid as he studied him.  
  
They all looked to be around 16 or 17, the same age as his little master. Unconsciously, Rashid clutched Quatre closer to him. He would not let these boys harm his young master.  
  
It was the braided imp that spoke first.  
  
"Looks like we found him," he said to his companions. The foreigner rolled his eyes at the imp for stating the obvious.  
  
Rashid blinked. "You've been looking for Quatre?"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The first thing Quatre was aware of was pain. His back ached. The next thing he noticed was that he was in a bed covered by a strange soft feeling blanket. The blanket strangely reminded him of feathers. Feathers?! Quatre opened his eyes and sat up, unknowingly unfurling the large fire red wings that had covered him moments before. He remembered! Was all that pain...for real? And the wings...the wings! Quatre gazed over his shoulder to see bright red and orange feathers mixed with yellow. He was afraid, yet curious. He reached out a hand to touch the feathers. Were there wings really his? But how?  
  
"Quatre! Thank goodness you're alright!" Quatre received a fierce hug from his older sister Irena. Quatre felt as if he wouldn't be able to breathe any minute now. Irena released his before that time came. Her delicate hand made its way to stoke the wing. Quatre's eyes winded when he found he could feel her hand on the wing.  
  
"Quatre, I've always known you were special but...this is something I never thought would happen even in my wildest dreams." Irena clutched her brother once again, burying her face in his soft golden hair.  
  
Quatre was confused. He sensed a great sadness in his sister. Gently, he pushed her away so he could speak. "Irena, just what is bothering you? You're too upset for it to be just the wings."  
  
Irena smiled. "My smart baby brother. Sometimes I wish you weren't empathic. At least then I could keep some secrets from you. I'll go get you some food."  
  
"But-" Irena closed the door. Quatre sighed. He stood from his bed and made his way over to the full-length mirror that stood in the corner. He looked strange with the brightly colored wings attached to his back. They made his look paler than normal. Quatre stretched his wings out. He looked so small as he stared at his reflection. Didn't birds always seem bigger when they puffed out their feathers and stretched out their wings? He wrapped his wings around his small frame. The feathers were soft and tickled his skin.  
  
"Hello there bird boy!" Quatre whirled around to find an imp with a long chestnut braid. The imp walked in, followed by Rashid and three other boys, one an elf.  
  
Rashid spoke to his charge. "Quatre, please sit down." Quatre did as he was told. He sensed that something was bothering his long time guardian. It was the same feeling he felt from Irena. "These boys have something to tell you."  
  
"Hey there. You're Quatre, ne? Mind if I call you Kat? Anyway, my name is Duo Maxwell. As you can see, I'm an imp. Heero Yuy here is an anti-social merc. He's human. Trowa Barton is the elf. He's quieter than Heero but not as anti-social. This is Wufei Chang. I call him Wu-man. He's from the dragon clan." The imp, Duo, seemed to be filled with energy, his tail wagging as he spoke. All Quatre could do was blink and try to shield against the emotions this boy emitted. How could anyone have so much energy?  
  
The mercenary, Heero, stepped forward. "Many centuries ago, Beasts protected the human race. For reasons unknown, all but one Beast betrayed mankind. It was a Phoenix." Here, Heero paused and pierced Quatre with a cold Persian blue gaze. The blonde gulped. Somehow he knew that the Phoenix was tied not only to the wings, but to the burning pain he felt all his life. "But the people protected by the Phoenix were afraid. Even though the firebird retold his pledge of loyalty many times, the people wouldn't listen.  
  
Wufei took up the story from there. "Realizing there was no way to convince his people, the Phoenix decided to show his loyalty the only way he could think of. The Phoenix killed itself in its own flames.  
  
"In a show of respect for the Beast's sacrifice, the people built a shrine over the sight where the great bird died. But one thing is a part of the structure that the builders did not intend. A prophecy."  
  
Trowa stared at the small boy and recited;  
  
"A boy of mortal and of beast   
Heart of gold and eyes of the sea   
Sunlight forever glows upon his head 

A boy of mortal and of beast   
Find him when in need   
Fire runs through his veins   
A boy of mortal and of beast   
What he is, he does not know 

Guard him well, chosen ones   
Solitary dragon,   
Silent elf,  
Mischievous imp,  
Emotionless mercenary   
A boy of mortal you must guard   
'Till mortal beast he becomes"

  
Quatre blinked, absorbing the information. "You think I'm the human form of the Phoenix?"  
  
"We know you are," said Duo. "Exhibit A- the wings. Exhibit B- the golden hair. Exhibit C--" 

"This is ridiculous!" came a shout outside the room. Irena's quiet voice could be heard outside the room. Quatre winced. Irena must have told their father of the situation and he didn't seem to be taking it well.  
  
Mr. Winner barged into the room. Quatre jumped a bit but still stayed seated. Duo, on the other hand, jumped a good two feet. His companions stayed silent.  
  
Mr. Winner's blonde hair was darker than Quatre's fair locks. A mustache did nothing to hide the scowl on his face. The man was well dresses in a clean white shirt and brown pants. Angry ice blue eyes landed on his son.  
  
Quatre had his head down, avoiding the piercing gaze. He knew his father wasn't angry with him, but the anger rolling off him was too much. He knew his father's gaze was now on the wings. The wings that -according to the four boys- belonged to the Phoenix.

So, how was that? This is my first GW fic. I hope it's okay. 


	2. Learning to Fly

I'm sorry for the looooooooooooooooooong wait. Please forgive me. Blame Toonami! They got me in a Kurama mood! And Froniter got me in a digimon mood, then I saw the new beyblade commercials and I got in a beyblade mood. They are so cute and chibi! I wanna watch em!   
  
Anyway, I'd like to introduce my co-author, Bright Anarchy. She's gonna help me. She's the only one kind enough to answer my plea. *hugs Bright* On with the fic!  
  
Phoenix- Ch 2  
  
Quatre sighed as he walked along the dirt path following the four boys. They all had left that morning, Mr. Winner nowhere in sight. He hadn't even joined Irea and Rashid in bidding him farewell. Quatre recalled what happened when his father had entered his room.  
  
~*~  
  
Quatre sat still, afraid what his father would say. Mr. Winner had spent years unhappy with Quatre for being unable to control his powers until Mr. H came along. It had been nice since then. There had only been a few arguments.  
  
Mr. Winner stepped forward and touched the wings. "Quatre, what's going on?" He knelt down so he was eye level with his son after signaling everyone to leave.  
  
Quatre relaxed slightly at the soft tone of his voice. "I don't really know, Father. I was walking home when I had another attack. It was worse than normal. I felt like I was in an inferno. It was so hot. Before I passed out, I felt a shearing pain in my back. I woke up to find these." He gestured absently to the wings.  
  
A moment passed in silence as Mr. Winner absorbed the information. He wrapped his arms around his son and held him. "It's going to be okay, Quatre. We'll get Mr. H over here right away and he'll help get rid of these wings."  
  
"But, Father, those boys said that I was the Phoenix. And I need to help them."  
  
"Quatre, you are too trusting. Half of them aren't even human! They are probably just tricking you. Just forget about them."  
  
~*~  
  
But Quatre couldn't forget. And after talking to Irea, he gathers his courage and confronted his father.  
  
~*~  
  
"Father?" Quatre peeked into his father's room after knocking. His heart was pounding. He struggled to keep his calm. He was breathing hard and wondering if those boys really did need him, a coward who was afraid to speak to his father. Unknowingly Quatre wrapped his wings around his small frame in comfort.  
  
"Come in, Quatre." said Mr. Winner.  
  
The blonde took a deep breath and stepped inside.  
  
"What is it, Quatre?"  
  
"Um…" Quatre ran a hand over his left wing. This was just too hard!  
  
"If it's about the wings, don't worry. I sent a letter to Dr. H. He is going to arrive tomorrow. He'll help get rid of those blasted things."  
  
"That's…not exactly what I wanted to talk about."  
  
"Oh? Then what is it?"  
  
Quatre took another deep breath. He was close to shaking. His father would be furious. He continued to stroke his wings.  
  
"I'm going."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'm going with them. They need my help and I can't just stay here. I'm leaving with or without your permission." Quatre held his breath. His father would be angry.  
  
Mr. Winner stood from his chair and walked over to Quatre. "Don't listen to them Quatre. They just want you for their own gain. Who knows what they'll-"  
  
"It's my choice. Besides, it can't just be a coincidence that they appeared when the wings came. Please, Father, I have to do this."  
  
"Quatre, if you leave with those boys, I will disown you."  
  
Quatre stared at the ground in silence. Mr. Winner smiled. He had won. He was shocked when the blonde boy looked up, defiance in his eyes.  
  
"Then goodbye, Mr. Winner." Quatre turned and left the room.   
  
~*~  
  
Quatre shook his head, not wanting to remember. He felt his father's feeling during the whole ordeal. The emotions that fell on him were hard to bear.  
  
A hand gently squeezed his shoulder. Quatre turned his head to the braided imp.  
  
"You okay, Quatre?"  
  
Quatre offered a small smile. "I'm fine. I just wish my father understood."  
  
"Don't worry. It'll be okay." Duo draped his arm across the smaller boy's shoulders. "Just you wait. When we save the world he'll wish he wasn't so mean ta ya, Kat."  
  
"Kat?"  
  
"A nickname. You're Kat, Wufei's Wu-man, Trowa's Tro, and Heero's Hee-chan."  
  
Quatre giggled at the hyper imp. "And what's yours?"  
  
"Me? I'm Shigami! The God of Death."  
  
"And an annoying baka." The two boys jumped to see Wufei behind them.  
  
"Geeze, Wu-man? You almost gave me a heart attack." Duo clutched his chest.  
  
"Humph. That wouldn't have been a bad thing. And DON'T call me Wu-man!"  
  
"Yeah, yeah. You said it before."  
  
"But you never listen. Maybe if I cut of that braid you'd hear better."  
  
"Eepp!" Duo clutched his braid and backed away from Wufei. He turned and ran past Heero and Trowa, who were ahead of the group. Wufei summoned his wings and flew after the imp.  
  
Quatre hurried to the other two boys. "Shouldn't we stop them?"  
  
Trowa shook his head. "Wufei knows he can't kill Duo. He's needed for this mission."  
  
"Oh." Quatre watched as Wufei flew after Duo. He wondered if he could fly with his wings. Slowing down so he was behind the quieter members of their group, he stretched out his wings.   
  
"Have Wufei teach you to fly." Quatre jumped when Heero spoke. He didn't even know the other was watching him. "Wufei," Heero called. The dragon reluctantly turned away from his prey and landed in front of Heero. "Fly ahead and find a good place were you can teach Quatre to fly. We'll stop and set up camp there."  
  
Wufei nodded and flew off, glaring at Duo who stuck out his tongue in childish victory. Quatre shook his head. With these people…. His life was sure going to get interesting.  
  
In the trees above, red eyes watched the group, attention mostly drawn to the golden haired boy.   
  
~*~  
  
He looked in the pond, seeing what his minion saw through his eyes. He looked up at his companions. "He has awakened."  
  
"We must bring him to her at once!"  
  
"He's a human!"  
  
"The phoenix always had strange taste."  
  
"What if he doesn't agree?"  
  
"We'll make him!"  
  
"Turn him into a full beast!"  
  
"Let's capture him now!"  
  
"His 'protectors' are of no threat."  
  
"Enough!" They all turned to the one gazing at the pool. "He has awakened, yet he is weak. Let us leave him be for a while. Have him grow stronger. As he is now, he won't stand the transformation into full beast. Once he is ready, we will bring him here. To the Haven."  
  
~*~  
  
Quatre gulped as he looked down from the branch he was balanced on. A wide river ran underneath him from far in the air. He was lucky Wufei hadn't chosen a cliff for his flying lessons.   
  
"Flap you're wings," ordered Wufei from where he hovered in the air. Quatre obeyed. "Now jump, towards the river."  
  
Taking a deep breath, Quatre bent his knees and jumped. He flapped his wings hard, trying to get airborne. He landed in the water.  
  
"Perfect 10!" shouted Duo. He got hit in the head with a rock, courtesy of Wufei.  
  
Quatre climbed back to the shore. He groaned. "I'll never get it!"  
  
"If that's your attitude you never will." The blonde looked up at the dragon who landed before him. "Unlike dragons, birds must practice flying. You'll get it eventually."  
  
"I just hope i learn soon. I'm getting tired of falling in water." Quatre stood and squeezed his shirt, trying to get rid of some water.  
  
"We'll take a break and try again." Wufei said. He took seat on a nearby rock.   
  
Quatre, uncomfortable with the silence, turned to Wufei. "Wufei, how'd you met the others?"  
  
"I was looking for them. My clan knew of the legend of the Phoenix and I knew I was a part of it. Heero and Trowa were already together when I found them. They were fighting against a Beast dragon. I helped them defeat it and saved the village it was attacking."  
  
"Beast dragon? I don't understand."  
  
"When the beasts starting turning on the humans, some dragons chose to side with the beasts. They disliked humans because humans were slaying them. While I'm saddened at the deaths of those of my kind, I knew they deserved it. The dragon's unjust treatment of the humans, resulted in the dragon slayings. Those dragons that joined the beasts became known as beast dragons.   
  
"I am a dragon hybrid. The dragons that continued to protect humans were gifted with the ability to take on human form whenever they wish. That way we can eat human food to gather energy to protect the humans. When we change to dragon form, we don't need to steal livestock to feed ourselves."  
  
"That's interesting. What about Duo? How'd you met him?"  
  
Wufei snorted. "That braided baka stole my money when we went into Luwa. When we caught up to him we found him fighting an Armaill. As we watched we realized that he was the last protector. Once he finished the beast, I took back my money and Trowa and Heero dragged Duo back to our hotel. We explained the situation and Duo gladly joined us. He's been a thorn in my side ever since."  
  
"He can't be that bad."  
  
"If it wasn't for the fact that he's needed, I'd have killed him a long time ago." Wufei stood. "Now, it's time to learn to fly."  
  
Quatre groaned and started climbing the tree once again. He balanced himself and walked out on the branch. Taking a deep breath he jumped and flapped his wings. His eyes shut tight; he waited for the drop into the running river. It never came. Opening his eyes he found himself flying.   
  
"Wufei! Look! I'm flying!" He did a few circles in the air.  
  
"Great job, Quatre! I want you to stay up in the sky as long as you can or until dinner's done. Whichever comes first." With that order Wufei walked away. Quatre groaned again. He couldn't have decided to teach him to land instead?  
  
  
  
That's it. I know, kinda short for the long wait you had to go through. It will get better. I have help! Let's thank applesauce once again! *hugs* 


	3. Getting to Know You

Ag- Hi everybody!  
  
Bright- Hello! Here's the next chap of Pheonix written by yours truly. Ack! *gets glomped by Ag*  
  
Ag- I knew getting a co-author would be a good idea! I love my new co- author! And I love my new muse! Minako9! *Minako walks in and is glomped by Ag*  
  
Minako- But I didn't do anything yet.  
  
Ag- You will! My turn to write next and you have to keep me from getting distracted with Crossing.  
  
Trowa had prepared a warm stew for dinner. Everyone sat down to eat around the campfire, everyone minus Quatre. While he had been practicing flying a small house sparrow with an attitude and probably a nest to protect had taken exception to him.  
  
"Ahhhh!" Quatre flailed rather ungracefully through the sky trying to get away from the tiny sparrow.  
  
Duo on the ground was laughing like a madman. "Go left! It's going to get you! Ha Ha!"  
  
"Tell him to quit fooling around and come get dinner," Heero said to Wufei.  
  
Wufei snorted in disgust. This was the mighty phoenix? "Duo go tell him to quit fooling around and come get dinner," snapped Wufie.  
  
Giggling Duo got to his feet and spread his bat like wings only to dive out of the way when moments later Quatre came careening past and smashed into a tree behind him. The sparrow did a few last warning dive bombs chirping furiously then took off to guard its nest.  
  
"You okay Kat?" asked Duo helping Quatre to his feet.  
  
A few crimson and gold feathers fluttered to the ground. Quatre staggered to his feet and shook his head to clear away the stars. "I'm fine," he answered mildly accepting a bowl of stew from Trowa with a smile.  
  
"You're not the least bit embarrassed to have been fleeing in panic from a bird smaller than your hand?" Wufei demanded with disgust.  
  
Quatre looked at Wufei as if he had no clue what the boy dragon was talking about.  
  
"He wasn't worried about the sparrow hurting him. He was worried about hurting the bird," spoke Trowa.  
  
Quatre nodded remembering belatedly that his companions couldn't have felt the tiny fragile sparrow's terror for its' nest, it's determined bravery to protect it's young. Wufei looked mollified though still in a general bad mood. Heero still seemed unsatisfied.  
  
"You have an important purpose. You can't afford to take risks on behalf of something as insignificant as a sparrow," spoke Heero coldly.  
  
Quatre's clothes were still wet from repeated dunking in the lake but his wings were dry. He pulled them about himself defensively. He had never been able to turn away from healing hurt animals he found in the woods. It wasn't just that he felt their pain. Quatre was naturally compassionate. He couldn't bear the thought of just letting the little sparrow get hurt.  
  
"I mean it," insisted Heero. "Whether it's a sparrow, a stray dog or one of us, you have to start putting your own safety first."  
  
Quatre looked so woeful at this comment that Duo spoke up with a grin trying to change the subject. "So, where do we go from here?" Duo asked.  
  
"Have you been living in a hole?" Wufei snapped back at Duo.  
  
"No, the attic of a church. Every good church needs an imp in the belfry."  
  
"Bats," corrected Wufei with a smirk.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Bats in the belfry, baka not imps," snorted Wufei.  
  
"There weren't any bats. Just me, " protested Duo his tail whisking behind his back playfully. Quatre giggled.  
  
"MORON! It's a famous saying implying that someone has a cluttered or unfocused mind! Mad as a hatter. Bats in the belfry." Wufei exploded.  
  
"Oh Yeah! That's me!" exclaimed Duo proudly with a cocky bow. "I'm not wearing a hat though. Wouldn't want to mess my hair."  
  
Wufei was turning red in the face. Heero impatient with the game interrupted. "We go to the tower."  
  
"I know that," replied Duo. "But where exactly is this tower?" In the centuries since that last beast war the tower had been lost to legend. Heero glared silently at Duo without an answer. Wufei stood there silent. Trowa spoke not a word.  
  
"There's a big library in Sank that might have clues," suggested Quatre. It was decided. They were headed for Sank.  
  
"Kat why don't you change out of those wet things. They can't be comfortable," Duo chatted.  
  
"I have dry pants but my spare shirt,... well. I wasn't expecting to grow wings. Irena sewed up this shirt for me."  
  
"Do you have a button up shirt?" Buttons were the latest new style.  
  
Quatre took out his spare shirt. It had tiny ivory buttons all down the front.  
  
"Put it on backward and button up around the wings," suggested Duo helping out.  
  
"It's a little tight around the neck backward but this is quite clever," commented Quatre.  
  
Duo chatted with Quatre well past the time the sun went down. Trowa watched silently. The young blond was exhausted and couldn't keep his eyes open but was too polite to interrupt Duo. The imp was so excited to have someone listening to his endless chatter that he hadn't noticed.  
  
"Duo would you shut up already some people are trying to sleep," grumbled Wufei.  
  
Duo turned away from Quatre for a few moments to pester Wufei. "Would you like some warm milk and a blankie? Oh poor Wu-kins all tuckered out."  
  
"Duo, it's past the decent hour for all of us to be asleep. All I'm asking for is a few hours of quiet before dawn!"  
  
"Kat and I were just talking. You see, Kat knows the value of stimulating conversation!" Duo whirled around at a strange noise.  
  
It was Trowa trying to muffle an almost silent chuckle. Trowa pointed over to Quatre. The young blonde had toppled over where he sat and was fast asleep.  
  
"Err... I'm going to bed," declared Duo cheerfully.  
  
"Humph," exclaimed Wufei pulling his bedroll over his head.  
  
With the ghost of a smile still on his face, Trowa got Quatre's bedroll ready and gently shifted Quatre into it.  
  
Heero sat with his back to the fire staring into the woods, vigilant. "Something has been following us all day," Heero whispered to Trowa.  
  
Trowa nodded once, serious.  
  
"Since we set out?" asked Heero.  
  
Trowa nodded.  
  
"It stayed down wind?"  
  
Trowa tilted his head to the direction he'd heard it last. Heero frowned slightly. The two sat watching the darkness for about an hour before there was a faint rustling in the woods. In a flash, Heero had a crossbow out aimed into the darkness; his other hand clutched at the hilt of his sword.  
  
Down low in the bushes nearest the sleeping blond two eyes reflected a slight glint from the glowing embers of the campfire. Heero waited in silence until Trowa had an arrow notched and ready then let loose the crossbow bolt. Wufei and Duo's eyes snapped open at the twang of the crossbow. They all heard the distinctive thunk as the bolt hit wood. Trowa kept his arrow poised waiting for a clear shot at something but there was a scrambling noise, whatever it was, fled off into the woods.  
  
Once Heero had his crossbow reloaded, Trowa slipped off into the woods to look for tracks.  
  
Duo woke Quatre and had him move his bedroll closer to the fire between Wufei and himself.  
  
"What's going on?" asked Quatre sleepy and disoriented.  
  
"There's something in the woods," answered Heero.  
  
Quatre closed his eyes and reached out with his empathy. Wufei watched him with interest. Duo and Heero were scanning the woods their weapons at the ready.  
  
Quatre sitting in a lotus position seeming to be stretching his consciousness out into the woods around them but in reality was fast asleep.  
  
Wufei frowned and nudged Quatre. "I know you're not recovered from the exhaustion of this transformation but we need you awake."  
  
"Sorry Wufei. Other than us the forest is peaceful," Quatre blushed embarrassed at having fallen asleep.  
  
"It may have been an animal. Is there anything your empathy would not detect?" asked Wufie.  
  
"...Magical constructs, some wizards can shield their aura," muttered Quatre.  
  
Trowa eventually returned having found nothing other than the occasional animal track.  
  
"False alarm," declared Duo flopping back down to sleep.  
  
Soon everyone slept but Trowa who sat watching and two sea green eyes that watched Trowa for a long while. "Aren't you getting tired? Do you want me to watch Trowa?" Quatre finally whispered.  
  
Trowa shook his head slightly.  
  
"I'm awake anyway. I don't mind," insisted Quatre.  
  
After the small blond stared at him worriedly for half an hour Trowa spoke softly. "Elves do not sleep."  
  
"I would think your soul would grow weary without some form of rest," whispered Quatre.  
  
Trowa tilted his head slightly in agreement. There was a long pause before Trowa deigned to speak a proper explanation. "For a short time each night elves rest in their memories. It is called the Revel."  
  
"Which memories do you visit when you want to rest?" asked Quatre.  
  
Feigning disinterest Trowa shrugged.  
  
Quatre felt a wave of sorrow coming from the elf. Perhaps he had few happy memories to revel in. Quatre was always one to show his feelings plainly. The depths of sadness Trowa felt but chose to hide revealed themselves in Quatre's eyes.  
  
Trowa eventually unable to bear the sorrow he saw reflecting back at him spoke. "Little One, did you know that of all things, elves value life as most precious. From the bright flame of life in one's loved ones to the tiny spark in a blade of grass, we treasure life." Quatre looked up at Trowa wide eyed.  
  
"I think tonight I will revel in the memory of how the life of a tiny sparrow was cherished." Trowa's words were spoken so solemnly, so seriously.  
  
Quatre didn't remember falling asleep but when he awoke the sun had been up for many hours and camp had been packed up around him.  
  
Most nights were not as eventful as that first night. Trowa and Heero were convinced something was following them still.  
  
"Guys! A friend of mine lives in a cottage near here we should stop and visit," insisted Duo one day as they trekked their way towards Sank.  
  
"Any friend of yours frightens me Duo," commented Wufei.  
  
Duo not missing out on the opportunity to tease pounced down in front of Wufei with a cheeky grin. "That's cuz you're a wuss Woo-man."  
  
Trowa and Heero in the lead plastered themselves to trees on either side of the trail as Duo came barreling past laughing madly; an enraged Wufei chased him with sword drawn.  
  
Heero grunted annoyed. Quatre suppressed a smile wondering why Heero felt it necessary to be focused every moment of the day.  
  
Duo's friend turned out to be a smuggler by the name of Howard. "Howard's part werewolf but he's a good guy," exclaimed Duo cheerfully.  
  
Bright - When buttons were invented in the 1300's they were a fashion revolution. Everyone wanted buttons. Everyone had to have buttons. Luckily I myself am not so obsessed by buttons. I like them just fine but between you and me, there's nothing like Velcro. ... Err... just kidding.  
  
Ag- Someone paid attention in History class. Anyway, I'll work on Phoenix now. I will try to get it done in a month or less. Bear with me. This is my first time writing a GW fic. Minako9- R'n'R! | 


	4. Havoc at Howard's

Ag- *sits in a large red chair and blows bubbles from a pipe* Greetings, dear readers. Welcome to the next chapter of this Gundam Wing Fanfiction entitled Phoenix.

Bright- You watched Cookie Monster introduce Monster theater one to many times as a little tyke didn't you?

Ag- No.

Bright- Where is your plate of cookies and smoking jacket?

Ag- Don't have any. Though I would like some cookies.

Minako- *sneaks up behind chair and tips it over. Ag falls off* As your muse I demand you do the intro with more sugar! *pulls cord and the three are buried in sugar*

Ag- *head pops out of the sugar pile* MINAKO!!!!

Minako- *pops up* What? *blinks innocent*

Bright- *pop* Great. Now I've got sugar in my hair. You didn't see a plate of cookies anywhere? I think Ag is holding out on us.

Minako- All I found was sugar.... *puppy dog eyes*

Ag- Quit it. You're punishment is you have to do the disclaimer. 

Minako- NO!!!! I already have to say that for my fics. Don't make me. *receives glares* Fine. Neither Bright nor Anime Girl owns Gundam Wing. And *sniff* neither do I. *cries*

Bright- On with the chap. Hey! Can we get a little flavoring for this sugar? Might as well turn this into the stuff in pixie sticks.

Phoenix

Chap 4

The group arrived at the cottage where Howard lived within an hour. Duo skipped up to the door, took a deep breath, and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"HOWARD!!! YA HOME!?!?"

There was a crash from inside followed by some cursing before the door opened.

"WHAT KIND OF- Oh, Duo. How've you been?" The man that had answered the door was tall. He was partially bald with gray hair. He had a gray mustache and beard. He wore a magenta colored button-up shirt with palm trees on it. Dark sunglasses covered his eyes.

"The usual. You won't believe this though. You know that Phoenix legend?" Howard nodded. "Well, I'm one of the guardians." Duo's tail wagged back and forth.

"You're the mischievous imp? I should've known. I hope the other guardians can keep you in line."

"Hey! I'm not that bad! I may run and hide but I never tell a lie," Duo stated proudly.

"True. Come on in and introduce me to your friends."

While they followed Howard inside, Duo kept on talking. "This here is Heero, Trowa, Wufei, and my buddy Quatre. As you can see, Kat here is the Phoenix."

"Hello, sir," greeted Quatre. The other boys just nodded their heads.

"Now, now, don't call me 'sir'. Makes me feel old. Just call me Howard." 

Duo did most of the talking, explaining how he ended up as a guardian and how he knew the werewolf. It amazed Quatre that someone could talk so much and tell two different stories at once. 

It turned out that Duo was an orphan. One day, when he was about 10, some people had found out about a group of kids living in an abandoned barn. The kids were taken to a nearby church where they were all adopted. That is, all except Duo. He stayed at the church, Father Maxwell and Sister Helen became like his family. 

This happy time was not to last for the imp. Soldiers came to the church seeking refuge. They threatened Father Maxwell, believing he was a spy of some sort when he tended to wounded prisoners. In desperation to get the strangers out of his home, Duo ran off to steal them supplies so they could leave. 

When Duo returned with the outrageous items the soldiers had demanded, the church was destroyed. It was mearly a pile of burnt wood. Burnt bodies littered the ground. Duo could not find the Father, but he did find Sister Helen. She wished him well and told him that she was glad he was safe. Then she said goodbye and died.

That day Duo had truly given up on God. He knew of only one god he could trust. The God of Death. That was the name Duo took for himself. He would decide who would live and die, since God didn't see fit to interfere. 

Three years later, Duo had met Howard, though he was in his werewolf form and had tried to eat him. Once it was dawn, Howard had returned to his normal form and invited Duo in his house. Duo stayed with Howard for a while before going off on his own again. He traveled a lot, becoming a thief since he was too lazy to earn money the honest way. He was relatively good when it came to thieving. He only took from those he knew had a lot of money. Often times he would give the money he collected to the children of poor families or the orphans.

It grew late with the story telling, and they were allowed to stay the night. Of course it took a lot of convincing by Duo and Quatre that they should stay. Trowa didn't really care what they did. Heero and Wufei on the other hand, wanted to get going right away. 

It was here that Quatre learned of his greatest weapon, thanks to Duo. It was the puppy-dog eyes. The two serious boys broke at the sight, though Heero hid it well. Trowa had watched the "negotiation" transpire, glad to have not been on the receiving end of those eyes. It was almost as bad as Heero's glare!

Now the sun was setting and Quatre was outside playing with some woodland creatures. The others sat on Howard's porch.

"So this kid's the Phoenix, eh?" stated Howard.

Duo nodded. "Yep. Still needs to work on the landings though."

Wufei snorted. (Ag- *laughs* Sorry. Keep reading.) "Some Phoenix. He's a nice kid but needs to learn about the world."

"We'll teach him combat when we can get him a weapon," said Heero.

Trowa watched as Quatre rubbed a rabbit's belly. "Maybe this is the Legendary Phoenix's personality."

Duo turned to look at the silent elf. "What do you mean, Tro?"

"The legend states that the Phoenix was a kind yet powerful beast. Maybe, when the time is right, Quatre will unleash his power."

"Hn. We can't rely on 'what ifs'."

"I don't know if it's a good idea to let Quatre's power awaken in battle. I think you should train him." Howard's voice was serious and quiet, afraid Quatre might hear what he had to say. "There's a darker part about the legend of the Phoenix. After one great battle, the Phoenix lost control and began attacking anything and everything: good Protectors Beasts, fallen foes, animals, or men. It was like he was lost inside himself. He destroyed stuff and declared it was for the good of humanity. He got a hold of himself when his people were attacked and he saved them. 

"No one knows what happened to make him crazy. But during that time all the Beasts and Protectors realized that the Phoenix was the strongest of them all. For the Beasts to win, they either had to kill the Phoenix, or get him to join them."

"Soooo… the Beasts could either try to kill Kat or capture him?" questioned Duo.

"We'll have to keep and eye on him then," said Wufei.

Unknown to the group, they were being watched. Alec, a panther beast, was crouched in the bushes. He watched the Phoenix play with disgust.

"This is the kid we want? I don't believe it. At the rate this group's going, it will take forever before this kid's strong enough to become a Beast. I'll just take his training in my own hands and kill those _guardians_ while I'm at it." 

Alec got ready to pounce, changing into a panther in one easy motion. He jumped… only to be knocked to the side.

Quatre looked up, startled, when a black and gray blur jumped from the bushes. The animals scattered around him as Heero, Trowa, Wufei, and Duo ran up to the blonde. A sleek black panther stood growling at a gray shaggy wolf.

"Fang!" cried Quatre. The wolf stopped it's growling before walking to Quatre.

"It's not Howard?" asked Duo confused for a moment before realizing Howard looked much different.

Quatre nodded. "This is Fang. I healed him once and he's stayed with me ever since." Quatre petted Fang.

"That cat is a Beast," stated Heero. They all turned to the Panther that stood before them.

"Very good," said the panther, "You could tell I wasn't an ordinary panther."

Duo stepped forward. "Duh. There are no panthers in this area."

"Why you insolent fool! I will kill you before I take the Phoenix back to the Haven!" He charged. 

Trowa grabbed Quatre by his arm and pulled him out of harms way, Fang following. Wufei and Heero also jumped away. Duo waited, smirking as the Beast came closer. Then, he took to the air. Alec slammed into the tree behind the imp.

"I always wanted to do that to someone," said Duo, arms crossed while he hovered in the air.

"Stop playing around, Maxwell," said Wufei.

Duo just stuck out his tongue in response.

Alec stood again, melting into his humanoid form. He wore black armor and his hair was the same midnight color. Yellow eyes burned with fire as he glared at Duo. A slender black tail bristled in anger. "You will pay dearly for that!" He jumped at Duo, using the tree to gain height, and reached out towards the imp. 

Duo "eeped" when he felt a tug on his braid and was pulled to the ground.

"Hey man! Don't touch the hair. Do you have any idea how long it takes to braid it?" 

  
A sword swung down at Alec. He jumped away, releasing Duo's beloved braid.

"If you cut your hair then you wouldn't have to worry about it getting grabbed," said Wufei.

Duo pouted. "But I like my hair the way it is."

"Stop your talking you two. This fight could have been over a long time ago," said Heero. His glare shut the two up.

"Don't worry, Quatre," said Trowa, "They may seem silly but they will protect you."

Quatre just nodded. He hadn't really been thinking that, but something close to it. Trowa and Heero seemed like they could be guardians, but Wufei and Duo seemed too normal. It was like him being the Phoenix. He really was, but it seemed like he shouldn't be.

If Alec was angry before then now he was burning with rage. How dare they act as if he was nothing? Okay, so he wasn't exactly a high-leveled Beast, but he was certain that he could take on a few children. This just seemed impossible. A Beast was being beaten by a human, dragon, elf, and an imp. Thinking quickly as he dodged some of Trowa's arrows, he decided that his best chance was to grab the Phoenix and high tail it out of there. With a burst of speed, he leapt toward Quatre.

"You're coming with me," he said, grabbing Quatre's arm.

"Get away!" Quatre screamed. He pushed at Alec. A bright light came from his hand and Alec flew back. The blonde boy's eyes were wide in shock before they drifted shut and he fell to the ground.

"Did he just faint?" asked Wufei, not believing that a man had fainted.

Heero walked over to Quatre and checked his pulse. "It wasn't fear, he's low on energy. Must have been the first time he used that attack."

"What did he do?" wondered Duo. He walked over to Alec who lay unconscious as well. His armor was melted in the center and there was a burn on his chest. "Cool. I wanna learn to do that."

"You are not a fire elemental, baka," said Wufei. 

"Phttt!" was Duo's reply.

"He's finished. Let's go back inside." Heero lifted Quatre in his arms and headed towards the house. Fang followed Heero, concerned for his master.

"Yeah, I'm starving." The group went back inside, ready to call it a night.

A short time later, Alec sat up. The moon was out, nice and bright. Alec hissed in pain when he felt his wound. 

"That brat. I'll kill him."

"No you won't," came a cold feminine voice.

Alec turned. Hidden in the shadows was another beast. He could only see the snaky tail that gleamed in the moonlight.

"What do you want?"

"Massster Treize thankssss you for giving him the idea to battle with the Phoenix to get him ssstonger. But his plan includes actually capturing or even trapping the Phoenix and his friends. You're sssacrifice will be honored."

"What do you mean sacrifi-" Alec never got to finish. The snake woman struck. Her fangs buried deep in his neck. The poison killed him before she let go. 

"Time to return to the Haven and report my sssuccessss to Master Trieze." With that, she disappeared back into the shadows.

At Howard's house, Heero looked out the window. He has sensed something had happened. He knew Alec was dead, he needn't worry about that. It was something else. A dark force that they would soon encounter.

Ag- And I am done! ^_^ 

Bright- Yeah! *happy tap dance*

AG- I feel so proud of myself. I got really into it when I was writing the fight part. Not much but it's a start. I leave the next adventure to you, Bright. Mess with their lives.

Bright- *victory sign* Sir, Yes sir!

Minako- Can I mess with their lives?

Ag- You already do in your fics.

Bright- R&R


	5. Memories That Haunt Me

Bright- *in a white lab coat* I have done it!  
  
Ag- And you're in a lab coat why?  
  
Bright- For Halloween. That and I had 20 different kinds of surgery teats today.  
  
Minako9- Yay! More! I wanna read!  
  
Ag- Hold it! *pulls away computer* You haven't updated your fics. You can read them!  
  
M9- *pouts and sits in a corner*  
  
Ag- That'll make her update! *evil laughter*  
  
Bright- *notices M9 reading the fic on her laptop* Whatever you say. By the way, we don't own so you can't sue. : P  
  
Phoenix  
  
Chapter 5- Memories That Haunt Me  
  
At the door Fang pushed past Heero.  
  
Howard glared at Fang. Fang glared at Howard. Heero who was carrying Quatre's limp form grunted, "Hn, Dog, will you get out of the way!"  
  
Howard advanced towards them an almost predatory look on his face. Fang and Howard were still staring each other down. Howard put hand on Quatre then tilted his head slightly. Fang shifted allowing Heero to squeeze through. Howard wouldn't let Fang past until the wolf looked down then the whole competition seemed over.  
  
"Howard?" asked Duo. "What was that all about?"  
  
Trowa was the one who replied. "This is his house, Duo."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" demanded Duo, wishing sometimes that Trowa wouldn't be so blasted enigmatic.  
  
"Quatre's friend and I were just having a little chat," answered Howard who was now petting Fang.  
  
"What'd you say to each other?" asked Duo, curious. Quatre looked like he was just starting to stir.  
  
"If I may?" suggested Wufei who considered himself something of a scholar, not to mention the fact that his dragon heritage reinforced similar dominance ideas. Howard shrugged casually. It wasn't like it had been a private conversation. "Howard," Wufei indicated with a small nod, "insisted that he is the wolf in charge in this territory, the alpha male. Fang interposed himself between Howard and Quatre, establishing that Quatre was his pack mate. By leaning in towards Quatre then making physical contact by touching him on the head Howard accepted responsibility for Quatre. Both Fang and Howard seem to have agreed that Quatre is," Wufei's brow furrowed in confusion. "...still a puppy?" Wufei guessed. "And therefore automatically out of the running for the position of alpha male. And um... well Fang conceded that Howard could be alpha male."  
  
"Close enough," admitted Howard with a noncommittal shrug. "The thing about Quatre was more about us agreeing that we would take care of him but him being adolescent or immature and therefore not alpha male is kind of implied."  
  
Duo grinned.  
  
"What!" demanded Wufei suspiciously.  
  
"So you're saying... our Kittie-Kat is a bird and a puppy," Duo announced with a silly grin.  
  
"You moronic baka," Wufei grumbled. "I do you the favor of giving you a serious answer and all you get out of it is Birdie-Cat-Dog. See if I give you a straight answer ever again!"  
  
Trowa closed his eyes and banged the back of his head against the wall a few times. Duo and Wufei just never stopped. Never, never, never, never... Trowa banged his head against the wall punctuating each never. Trowa actually liked silence. He wanted Duo and Wufei to shut the heck up. Just for a few hours.  
  
Heero poked Trowa to get his attention. Trowa left off banging his head against the wall and looked at Heero with an eyebrow raised.  
  
"We've had something following us from the time we set out. Fang or the Beast?" demanded Heero, all business as always.  
  
Trowa nodded towards Fang.  
  
Quatre woke up and promptly emptied the contents of his stomach over the edge of the bed he'd been laid in. He was shaking and obviously distressed. It was cleaned up in a moment or two. Fang hopped up on the bed and curled on top of Quatre nuzzling him gently.  
  
All the boys looked worried. Trowa who seemed to have some sort of a sixth sense about certain things nodded for Howard and the other boys to leave.  
  
"What's wrong?" asked Trowa.  
  
"I killed him!"  
  
Trowa shook his head no.  
  
"What happened? He was trying to hurt me or, I don't know but I was frightened and all of a sudden it was like I was on fire inside and then it exploded out and everything was on fire," Quatre babbled distraught.  
  
"No," spoke Trowa. "It was a controlled burst of fire directed exactly at what was threatening you."  
  
"It didn't feel controlled. I've never used my power to hurt someone before. Where is he? What happened to him?"  
  
"You knocked him out. We left him there."  
  
Quatre still very distraught recklessly threw his empathic senses wide open. His eyes unfocused and Trowa had to quickly catch him to keep him from falling out of the bed. Trowa held Quatre concerned until the small blond blinked and seemed to come out of it. Quatre shook his head. "No, no, no."  
  
"You're trembling. Calm down."  
  
"He IS dead!"  
  
"It was not you!" Trowa reiterated, insistent on this point. The elf held Quatre until the shaking seemed to pass. Fang licked Quatre's face worriedly.  
  
"Death is a part of the natural cycle. Every creature, every living thing with a will is meant to value it's own life over a life that threatens it. When it comes to kill or be killed there is no good or evil," Trowa spoke.  
  
Eventually Quatre calmed, as he seemed to accept Trowa's words.  
  
"Are you okay now?" Trowa asked.  
  
Quatre nodded. "I had no control over what was happening," Quatre whispered. "I know sometimes the only way will be to ... kill or be killed. I just don't want to feel like that again; like there's no control."  
  
Trowa nodded and was silent for a long while before finding what he wanted to say. "Train. Practice control. Build strength so you don't collapse after every burst of power. We will help."  
  
Pale and scared, Quatre nodded. The power seemed terrifying now and Trowa, Trowa and the others wanted it to grow?  
  
"Little one. On my word of honor, I promise you, I won't let it overwhelm you."  
  
Quatre woke the next morning to a loud bang and scream. He scrambled out of bed. Heero and Trowa were at his side at once. They went together to investigate. Duo came barreling past cackling with glee. Wufei came storming after him covered head to toe in oatmeal. After a few calming breathes to clear away the adrenaline and Heero's muttered "Omea o Koroso, Duo..." They all wandered into the kitchen. Howard was grinning wolfishly and snickering.  
  
Trowa's eyebrow rose and Howard chuckled. "I sell special weapons. I was showing Duo some of the items I acquired recently."  
  
"And?" demanded Heero, irate.  
  
"Chinese firecrackers in the oatmeal," laughed Howard spreading his hands, shaking his head in denial and stepping back from the obviously seething Heero. "I just sold him a few things. The oatmeal was his idea."  
  
Heero growled.  
  
Howard changed forms and raced off laughing wolfishly. Heero was so thoroughly ticked off he chased after him. "What kind of a IDIOT sells DUO firecrackers!" Heero roared.  
  
Quatre burst out laughing. Trowa chuckled lightly at Heero who had finally lost it.  
  
Howard eventually made his peace with Heero by letting him have a few 'special' weapons free of charge.  
  
The five boys were on the road early hoping to leave the trouble that had found them behind.  
  
Wufei had decided that Quatre needed toughening up so he had the small blond carrying almost all of the supplies. Every time Quatre stumbled or paused Wufei was right there breathing down on his neck. Heero and Trowa seemed to be ignoring all of this. Duo was becoming progressively more and more outraged by Wufei's behavior and by the fact that Quatre wasn't sticking up for himself or complaining.  
  
Wufei was getting more and more bad tempered because Duo, angry about Kat's treatment, was harassing him even more than usual; only Duo was a little mean spirited because he was mad.  
  
Wufei as if trying to prove a point piled something else on Quatre every time Duo harassed him. Finally Quatre was carrying everything but the weapons, including all of Duo's stuff, something Duo was not happy about.  
  
They traveled along, Quatre between the feuding Wufei and Duo until after some distance Heero looked back and starred at Quatre incredulous. Trowa who had been scouting ahead came back to see what the hold up was. "How long has he been carrying all of that?" Heero asked curious.  
  
"The past five miles or so," snapped Duo grouchily.  
  
As one, Heero and Trowa moved to unburden the small phoenix. He looked like he was about to die. They had him completely unburdened and sat down in a matter of moments. Trowa looked at Wufei and Duo disapprovingly, then looked back to Quatre giving him something to drink and watching him carefully.  
  
Wufei crossed his arms defensively, a fixed angry expression on his face as if daring anyone to imply he had done anything wrong. Duo kept flicking leaves at Wufei with his tail, obviously thinking if that blasted dragon had hurt his little buddy he was in for it.  
  
"Please don't fight," pleaded Quatre.  
  
Duo and Wufei glared at each other.  
  
"It was heavy but it was alright," Quatre spoke trying to soothe Duo.  
  
"That's a fat load of bull! It's not alright!" Duo exploded. "He's been picking on you and going on about you being weak since day one! I won't stand it anymore and I don't know why you just let it go! You should stand up for yourself, Kat!"  
  
"He was doing fine!" Wufei shouted back. "You don't know anything about it! I'm not mean or cruel!"  
  
"Why is it so important to you I be strong," asked Quatre.  
  
Wufei glared and made no word towards answering.  
  
Duo just couldn't leave it alone. He was too angry to be patient. A mean right hook soon leads to an all out scuffle. Quatre stepped between them immediately. "Please we mustn't fight!"  
  
Wufei tossed his katana off to one side. They didn't want to kill each other. They just wanted to beat the living daylights out of each other. Wufei got Duo right in the eye.  
  
"Stop! Please!" Quatre was ignored. His efforts at peace keeping resulted in an elbow to the nose.  
  
Duo got one fist bunched in Wufei's shirt and was trying to get a few good swings in but Wufei had his other hand grab at the wrist. Wufei had Duo's braid and was yanking for all he was worth. Quatre was trapped between the two. When they started kicking, all three went tumbling.  
  
Quatre woke unsure how much time had passed. He'd got knocked on the head. It couldn't have been more than a few moments. Wufei was sat at one side of the clearing, Duo at the other. Both looked somewhat ashamed as they watched Quatre sit up, however, they still both looked pretty angry. Quatre waved Trowa off. Quatre was fine. He'd just been stunned for a moment. His natural healing abilities meant the bruises were already fading.  
  
Heero was glaring at both Duo and Wufei and looking extremely pissed off. He had one hand fisted around his sword hilt and the other hand just plain fisted.  
  
"Wufei, can I talk with you alone?" asked Quatre, getting to his feet and shaking out his ruffled feathers.  
  
Wufei nodded. "As long as I don't have to talk to that braided menace!" he snapped.  
  
They went off into the woods a ways. Heero reluctantly gave Wufei back his katana so Quatre would not be undefended.  
  
"You're not mad at me but your mad at Duo," Quatre spoke.  
  
Wufei nodded unaware that he was glaring at the small blond fiercely.  
  
"Can you see why it would seem to Duo as if you were being harsh with me?" asked Quatre.  
  
"You were carrying it all! I wasn't mad at you! I was mad at him!" Wufei ground out defensively.  
  
"Were you trying to show Duo something or me," asked Quatre, patient and calm.  
  
"He was insulting you more than I was!"  
  
This was getting Quatre nowhere. Wufei was so angry he turned every question into and attack about Duo.  
  
Quatre took up a meditative pose and gestured for Wufei to do the same in front of him. They sat lotus style with knees touching and hands joined. "Clear your mind of anger. Focus on the sound of my breath. With each breath let the anger flow out of you." Quatre's voice was soothing and hypnotic. In a little while the forest seemed to evaporate around them. Wufei could feel Quatre's warmth reach out to him. It was warm.  
  
"You don't want me to be weak," Quatre whispered his voice leading Wufei to answer.  
  
"I am weak," Wufei answered, mildly surprised at the words coming out of his own mouth.  
  
"Why are you weak?"  
  
"I let Meiran die."  
  
"Who was Meiran?"  
  
"She was my friend," Wufei explained unsure why he was so calmly chatting about this. "She was my wife too."  
  
"You don't have many friends?" asked Quatre.  
  
"No," answered Wufei.  
  
"Am I your friend?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Is Duo your friend?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Why are you angry with him?"  
  
"He wouldn't let me protect you. He didn't understand. He didn't trust me."  
  
Wufei was drifting away from Quatre's calm warmth. Every question seemed to bring a more emotional response and Quatre has lost some of his calm to sorrow when Wufei had admitted that he didn't think of him as a friend. Quatre was confused. All day he had been certain he had felt something from Wufei. He had thought it was friendship.  
  
"Am I a burden?" asked Quatre. You cannot lie when your heart and mind are open wide.  
  
"Yes."  
  
Quatre was having trouble keeping his empathy open and not hiding behind invisible barriers of loneliness. Wufei surprised him. He reached out to Quatre his mind no longer clouded by anger.  
  
"Meiran was a burden too, a precious responsibility to bear. A warrior's skill and strength come naturally to me. The blood of dragons flows in my veins.  
  
"An army of beast raiders attacked my clan. Nataku, my Meiran, went to fight them after the elders asked me to fight and I refused, not believing one person could make a difference. She was insistent on defending against the injustice of oppression. When I found she had gone in my place I went after her to get her out. I arrived too late. She died in my arms. The beasts poisoned the wells. They salted every field but the field of flowers Nataku had held against them. When I returned to the village after burying my wife, no one was left. The poison had killed everyone. Meiran's field was the only untainted place.  
  
"If I had lent my strength to hers. Her justice would have saved more than one field of flowers and one solitary, unworthy dragon. The spirit of justice in me is her memory."  
  
Wufei hadn't meant to tell Quatre something so intensely personal but he had desperately needed to tell someone for so long. Quatre's healing warmth freed the truth from its icy prison.  
  
"Duo is like Meiran? You are mad at him because he wants justice and he doesn't see you are trying?" asked Quatre, confused.  
  
"No," Wufei answered in thought. "Duo is me. You are Meiran."  
  
With a flash of insight, Quatre came to understand. In a deep meditative state, he did not even notice as Wufei lifted him into his arms and carried him back to the campsite. Quatre didn't hear Heero's sharp "What happened?"  
  
Quatre didn't hear Wufei's gentle "He healed me. His mind is resting. He's fine."  
  
Nor did he hear Wufei and Duo make their peace.  
  
Quatre's mind shifted through the images Wufei's subconscious had brought into clarity.  
  
... the family Wufei had lost and longed for. The responsibility Wufei felt as a guardian and Quatre's own gentle innocence...  
  
I am the same age as him but to him I am a little brother, someone to look out for, to be strong for, to teach and share with. For the love of Meiran, Wufei wants to teach me to be strong. He is angry when I am weak because he is afraid he won't be able to protect me.  
  
When Duo was trying to protect me, Wufei kept looking at him and seeing himself, ... because Duo was getting angry instead of having faith in him and in me.  
  
I was lifting all that stuff. How was I doing that?  
  
Wufei was annoyed with Duo but he was angry at the memory of himself.  
  
Quatre opened his eyes. Everything was peaceful.  
  
Ag- *stares at Bright disbelieving* I don't know weather I should pound you or Wufei for picking on Quatre.  
  
Bright- *gulp* But Wufei's reasons are explained. Besides, it's not my fault he has a "I hate weak people" attitude.  
  
Ag- *sigh* It looks like I have to bring in some more action.  
  
Ly- No you don't! *grabs Ag and starts to drag her away* As your muse for Crossing, I demand that you write that and post it!  
  
M9- *grabs Ag's other arm* No you don't! I'm her muse for this fic and she's writing the next chap to this!  
  
Ag- *stuck in human tug of war* HELP ME!!!!!!  
  
Bright- I would but I'm on vaca for this fic right now. *sips her soda and relaxes in a hammock*  
  
AG- I'll work on them both ok! I'll do Phoenix in school and Crossing after. Just DON'T HURT ME!!!!!!!  
  
Ly and M9- Ok. *releases her* Bye everybody. 


	6. Into the Snakes Pit

Bright- *drags Ag in by the ear* Alright, apologize!  
  
Ag- Gomen. OW! Could you let go of my ear? *is released*  
  
Bright- As you all know, it was Ag's turn to write so don't kill me. *Gestures to Ag who is standing in front of a target*  
  
Ag- *gulps when she sees all the pointy objects the readers are ready to throw at her.* GOMEN! I have updated to please you! Just don't KILL me!!!!! *runs away*  
  
Minako- *watches as Ag runs away from sharp objects* She seems scared.  
  
Bright- Serves her right. *Puts a nice piece of cake on the tread mill* Mmm.. A nice treat but I'll exercise first. After all those Christmas goodies I have to be a little good.  
  
Minako- I want some! *drools*  
  
Bright- But you haven't read the fic yet.  
  
Minako- Ooohh... *tries to decide as Ag run by being chased by readers with knives* I gotta do it. *grabs cake and runs away in the confusion*  
  
Bright- That's MY chocolate! *gives chase*  
  
Duo- And I thought we were bad.  
  
Wufei- *nods then notices that Duo is tying a pink bow on his sword* MAXWEEEL!!!!!!  
  
Phoenix  
  
Chapter 6- Into the Snake's Pit  
  
Quatre gave a yawn and stretched as he sat up. 'I guess I used too much energy. I've never really done anything like that before.' When he opened his eyes he found a bowl of soup held before him.  
  
"Here," said Wufei.  
  
Quatre smiled and took the bowl. "Thank you, Wufei."  
  
Wufei studied him as he sipped at his soup. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine. I never used my empathy like that before. Most people I've been around are really open with their emotions."  
  
Duo came flying into the camp as the two talked. The imp landed next to Heero. "Well, Mr. Leader, up ahead is a trail that leads to some cliffs, past that is a small town. We have to go though the cliffs if we wanna get there before nightfall. Going around would take to much time. Above would be peachy if we wanna be Flion food. There's a whole bunch of those cats with wings."  
  
"Not a bunch of cats, a pride, Duo," said Wufei.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he replied.  
  
"Hn. Then we're going through. Let's finish packing up."  
  
The group packed up their things and headed off. Duo was chattering away about something. No one was really listening and Duo didn't care if they did. Quatre laughed when Wufei made a comment about Duo, loving to hear himself talk. This, or course, started another argument altogether. The blonde giggled as he watched Duo dodge rocks thrown by the enraged dragon hybrid.  
  
~ I can't eve i. These creres re goi to tect y up?!~  
  
Quatre froze. What was that? Who said it? It was a bit fuzzy, the sentences not making any sense. He looked around and noticed that none of the others seemed to have heard the voice.  
  
The elf seemed to sense Quatre's confusion and stopped to turn to him. "Is something wrong, little one?"  
  
Quatre looked up at him. "No. Nothing." He smiled innocently. Seeming to believe him, Trowa dropped the matter.  
  
~I ond ats wrog ith hi.~  
  
Quatre sighed. What was saying this? And was did it seem he could only hear it. He hoped he hadn't begun to hear voices. He felt Fang brush his nose against his hand. Quatre smiled and scratched his head, the wolf pushing his head into the scratch.  
  
Quatre soon forgot about the fuzzy voice when they reached a river just before the cliffs. Duo convinced Heero with his constant nagging that they should have a lunch break. The imp ran off after that and came back with some sticks. While trying to find some thread, Duo nearly tore the bags apart. Wufei solved his problem by walking up behind the boy and plucking a couple of hairs that had fallen loose from Duo's braid.  
  
Duo took off after Wufei with his scythe, which had magically appeared in his hand in a burst of violet light. The others watched, this time it was the dragon that was the prey.  
  
Quatre decided to intervene after five minutes. Duo then went to mourning the loss of those few hairs. After about five more minutes of this, one minute spent watching Duo in disbelief, the other four minutes of Quatre trying to get Wufei to apologize, Wufei walked up to the imp.  
  
The dragon took a deep breath. "Gomen nasai, Maxwell. I thought that the fish would be attracted to your hair."  
  
Duo jumped up, instantly happy. "Yep, you're right. My hair is the best there is." Then the braided boy grabbed Quatre's hand and dragged him toward the nearby river. The more serious members, and Wufei, followed behind.  
  
After making two fishing rods using Duo's not forgotten hair, the group relaxed. No fish was caught and they ended up eating stew. Duo cursed the fish for not biting every time he glanced at the lake. Quatre smiled at the imp. He didn't want to tell his friend that the fish had outsmarted him. After they ate, they began the trek along the cliffs.  
  
~*~  
  
He stood before the pool, gazing into its depths. He watched as the guardians and the Phoenix followed the trail. Pulsing around their bodies he could see their auras. Ice blue eyes were trained on the phoenix child. The boy's powers had grown so much since Alec had attacked.  
  
"Dorothy," he called into the shadows.  
  
A snake woman slithered from the darkness. Her long pale blonde hair swayed as she moved. Her bangs barely hid her gray eyes. "You called, Massster Trieze."  
  
Trieze turned to her. He brushed a lion paw like hand through his well-kept light brown hair. He was a griffin, leader of the Beasts. His lion like tail brushed against the ground. Golden wings flapped once, dispelling the magic of the pool. "I want the Phoenix now. The growth of his powers is amazing. They are at the Cliffs of Dalemet. Do whatever you like but separate the Phoenix from the guardians. I want the Phoenix here unharmed if possible."  
  
"Yesss, Massster." Dorothy bowed and left.  
  
"Une."  
  
A harpy stepped up next to Trieze. Her brown hair was tied into a bun on her head. Pale red-feathered wings sprouted from her back. Brown eyes behind large round glasses stared at her lord.  
  
"I would like you to be in charge of the training we'll put the little bird though. When you believe he's strong enough, we'll use the spell."  
  
"Then victory will be ours milord."  
  
Trieze nodded and turned to leave. "Oh, and Lady Une, do be a bit more gentle then usual in your training with him. Can't have him dying on the first day."  
  
~*~  
  
Quatre was gliding in the air happily, Fang chasing after him from the ground.  
  
"Stupid animal," commented Wufei. "Doesn't he realize that he can't catch Quatre?"  
  
As if understanding what Wufei has said, Fang turned and ran up to the dragon. The wolf looked at him innocently before nipping his tail. Wufei cried out in anger and gave chase to the gray wolf. Quatre and Duo watched amused.  
  
Suddenly, Quatre froze and hovered in the air. "Someone's near," he whispered.  
  
That caught the attention of the other travelers. They all stopped, Wufei freezing in his strangling of the wolf.  
  
Trowa heard the rumble first. "Above!" Boulders tumbled down towards them.  
  
Wufei lifted Fang and took to the air. Duo followed his friend with Trowa in tow. Quatre flew to Heero and gabbed the mercenary's hand. The boulders rained upon them, the three flyers dodging each boulder to keep themselves and their cargo safe.  
  
Unluckily for Quatre, the blonde wasn't as strong flyer yet. Having never carried anything while airborne, the boy was growing tired fast. It was too late for a warning. The boulder came before anyone realized it. Quatre felt pain course through his body causing him to loose his grip on Heero. Quatre heard Duo call to them in panic and Fang's worried barks. He felt their concern rolling over him before he was lost into darkness.  
  
Heero slowed his decent so that he was near the unconscious youth. He clutched the blonde to his chest. He looked up to see the others were unable to come to their aid. The two were nearing the ground. Heero turned his body to take the brunt of the impact. He grunted in pain when they hit the ground. The land beneath them broke and they fell into a dark cavern.  
  
~*~  
  
Dorothy peered over the edge of the cliff and watched the results of her handy work. She was disappointed when she noticed that the guardians were still alive. At least she separated them from the Phoenix. She hoped the brat was still alive or Trieze would have her head. There was still one guardian still with they boy but that one was a mere mortal. He'd be weakened from the fall. Besides, she was Dorothy. She could deal with one measly human. (Ag- She don't know him very well, does she? B- Stop interrupting! *gags Ag*)  
  
~*~  
  
Quatre groaned as he stirred. He pushed himself up on his elbows. While any wounds he may have acquired during the fall were healed, the blonde boy was still sore.  
  
Heero grunted from somewhere nearby the blonde. Bright blue eyes searched for the others. His eyes widened when he saw the numerous wounds on Heero. He crawled over to him quickly and placed his hands on him. Quatre began pouring his energy into healing Heero. Within moments Heero, now healed but slightly soar, sat up.  
  
"I'm so sorry, Heero," apologized Quatre. "If I was a better flyer you wouldn't have been hurt. I'm just a stupid weakling." Quatre gazed at the ground.  
  
Heero sighed at the sight. He wasn't good at comforting people. He was a fighter. Where was Duo when you needed him? Or even Trowa or Wufei. They seemed to have developed a bond with the boy. Heero spared another glance at the boy who was silently beating himself up before placing a hand on his shoulder. Quatre looked up, tears brimming his eyes.  
  
"You're not a weakling. You've grown stronger since we started out. You've learned a lot about your powers in the short time since your awakening. About the flying, just keep practicing. Duo and Wufei are glad to teach you." Heero stood. "Now let's get out of here."  
  
Quatre nodded and stood as well. "Thanks, Heero." Heero nodded. If Duo was here, Quatre was sure his friend would say that Heero had just used up all his words today. Speaking of Duo, the blonde turned his gaze upwards. The passage they fell through was blocked. Only a small hole let in a bit of light. He concentrated with his empathy to search for his friends. He could only sense Heero. He must have used up a lot of energy to be unable to read any further.  
  
"Let's go," said Heero. He was heading towards a dark tunnel.  
  
Quatre gulped as he ran after the older boy. Not wanting to be weak, he didn't mention that he was afraid of the dark.  
  
"Hn."  
  
Quatre took that as hurry up. He took a deep breath and steeled himself before following Heero inside the tunnel. He grabbed hold of the back of Heero's tunic when the light behind them no longer chased the darkness away.  
  
Ag- Sorry! This was just a good spot to end it. Isn't Quatre cute! *hugs Quatre*  
  
Bright- My turn! *grabs Quatre and runs away* I'll need him to write!  
  
Ag- *cries*  
  
Minako- At least Bright forgot I stole her cake. 


	7. Trapped In Darkness

Bright: Alright, I admit it. I've been doing my impersonation of an ostrich. I've had my head in the ground. Err... I have been thoroughly and completely stuck. I've re-written this countless times but I'm now officially conceding defeat and passing the little I've written off to my co-author with much whimpering hoping she can write me out of the corner I've written myself into. Ehh... maybe it's long enough to just post.  
  
For you entertainment here is the alternate version of this chapter.

Heero and Quatre stared through the darkness at each other eventually out of boredom they start flicking pebbles at each other until one flicks into Quatre's eye.  
  
"Ow! Dammit!"  
  
"Hn!"  
  
Trapped in the cave eventually starvation sets in. Quatre dies first. Heero then stoically chews on him for a while for the sake of survival. Unfortunately, a wing bone gets stuck in Heero's throat and he dies. Heero's last thought is, 'Hn... I thought that only happened with chicken."  
  
Wufei, Duo and Trowa having seen there friends buried entirely, move to the Kazba and open a Karaoke bar serving pixie stick, beer and fried chicken.  
  
Wufei is grumpy about it. Duo thinks it's a blast. Trowa is indifferent.  
  
The End. 

Ag (now Yume): sweatdrop

* * *

Chapter 7: Lost In Darkness

Darkness is a strange thing. The longer it continues the less power it has thought Quatre following Heero by sound alone now. He had been forced to focus on moving forward without breaking a leg, tripping over something or loosing Heero in the darkness. At first, Quatre had found himself babbling an endless stream of commentary about nothing not even listening to himself talk. "Ouch that was a rock. What is it with caves and slime? Do you like tea? My father does a lot of importing and exporting. He has a monopoly on the southern market. He imports carob and tobacco too but I'm not really much of a chocolate person and the smell of tobacco kind of oozes over everything like oil. It makes me queasy. Iria is crazy for chocolate. She makes these faces when she eats it and is all oooh, ahhh. It's so funny. Heero wait up! Has every rock down here been honed to a razor's edge? This once I went to market and this camel..."  
  
Heero responded not at all until Quatre fell silent on his own for a moment. "You'll find it easier to follow me if you listen instead of talk," Heero spoke stating fact without kindness or cruelty.  
  
"How are you doing it? I never hear you trip," asked Quatre sometime later.  
  
Heero could hear Quatre's breathing. He had recognized the fear almost immediately and waited for it to pass because it was all he knew how to do. Fear is overcome by being forced to confront that which you fear. Heero thought about that for a while wondering if it was really true. He had been trained ruthlessly. There was nothing he feared. Then again what was there to fear when you were a sword and nothing but a sword? His latest employer Wizard J was paying well. J had insisted on more very specialized training, brutal training. Emotions are the strongest magic of all J had taught. You must surpass them until all that is left is the sword and the mission. Odin, Heero's mentor who had died before Heero started dealing with the creepy old wizard had said it was important to always follow your emotions. What happened then if you followed fear, regret, melancholy, anger J had argued. For now Heero kept all of it locked away biding his time. The fledgling phoenix was the most emotive creature Heero had ever met. Quatre was lonesome, scared, determined, cheerful, friendly, tired, happy... everything that a person could be Quatre was all at once. Heero watched. Who was right, Odin or J?  
  
"Hn," Heero grunted not bothering to answer just dismissing the question.  
  
They traveled along in silence for some time until they came to an underground stream and what seemed like a dead end.  
  
"Hn."  
  
"What is wrong?" Quatre asked softly.  
  
He's not afraid anymore, noted Heero staring through the darkness into the general direction of the phoenix. "This cave is a dead end. We're trapped." Heero stated dispassionately.  
  
Quatre did not answer. He went to the water, stepped down into the stream and then was silent and still.  
  
Hours passed. Heero sat on a rock in silence calculating how long it would take to shift the rock away from the rock fall. The litchen and water would sustain them for a short while. Chang's experimentation indicated the phoenix was stronger than he appeared to be.  
  
Quatre giggled then there was a splash and some coughing.  
  
If you are pissing in that water, I'm going to throttle you, thought Heero striding over to pull Quatre out angrily. He grabbed a fist full of feathers and hauled the boy out.  
  
"Heero," Quatre called happily ignoring the mercenary's rough treatment. "There are fish. They were nipping at my toes. There is a current. This has to lead out!" (B: There was no water piddling involved for anyone who didn't figure out that Heero was just being snotty.)  
  
"We're going back to try and shift the rock fall," snapped Heero not bothering to explain how short a time a person could hold their breath, how cave streams tended to twist and maze, how impossibly unlikely a stream escape was.  
  
Quatre returned with Heero and helped him shift rock. For a long time they didn't speak.

It was awkward heavy work.

* * *

Duo frowned. They had escaped pursuit but they had a duty to the phoenix. "Hey Woo!" Duo called with forced strained sounding cheerfulness. "I have been around you too long I'm starting to think like you. I was just thinking DUTY, DUTY, DUTY!"  
  
Trowa, watching silently, noted that there was no sincerity at all in the imp's mocking grin.  
  
Wufei exploded! "Of course we have a duty to them you impossible BAKA! MORON! BRAIDED AIR HEAD!"  
  
Duo nodded weakly, forcing a playful chuckle at the dragon's expense, but his grin faltered.  
  
Wufei didn't notice and continued ranting. "IMBECILIC IMP! CRANIALLY COMPROMISED CRETEN! DUNDERHEADED DOORNOB!" Wufei's insults continued full steam but he didn't seem to be directing them at Duo in particular for Duo had given up on the pretense of grinning and wandered off to pet Fang.  
  
Neither of them noticed Trowa slip off silently. Wufei was still ranting.  
  
When Trowa returned Wufei and Duo had fallen silent and seemed to have been patiently waiting for him to return.  
  
"Need some alone time with the trees?" Duo quipped. He had meant it to be a joke but it came out sounding somewhat mean. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like... I just..."  
  
Trowa shook his head silently dismissing the need for any apology. "Town near here." Trowa held up a map that showed, obviously sketched by some elf-interrogated villager, all the known caves in the area.  
  
Wufei took the map and studied it. "We were here when we were attacked. There's no cave showing here. These caves all cluster around water areas. The caves must be limestone. Water erodes the stone creating pockets, voids in the solid stone." Wufei continued muttering something about glaciers and soil composition.  
  
A pained expression passed across Duo's face. . "Dumb it down Wu-zer."  
  
Trowa was silent and expressionless listening to Wufei. Wufei stopped mumbling and looked up. "They're trapped in a cave with no known entrance or exit."

* * *

Quatre sighed in relief as he dropped himself down. After trying to move the rocks for what seems like forever to the blonde-Heero told him it had only been an hour- he was grateful for the break, even if they were trapped.

Heero was less cheerful than his younger companion. They hadn't made any progress. There were so few options left to them. The first was to continue to move the rock and hope they would break to the surface. The other was risking the stream as an escape route. They could wait for the others but there was a chance that they would miss them or cause the rocks to fall on top of them. There was a slim chance on a safe rescue. Moving the rocks was the best choice.

"I'm thirsty," declared Quatre, gaining the other's attention.

"Hn. Then get a drink. The stream's not that far from here. Just don't fall in."

Quatre remained on the ground a little while longer before standing. "Alright. I'll be back in a bit." He careful walked down the cave, his hand running along the wall. Heero watched him until the shadows swallowed him up.

Quatre hated the darkness. He always had. There seemed to be something hidden in the shadows. He never knew what it was or what it wanted, but it was there and unnerved him. Quatre took a deep breath. He had to stay calm. It wouldn't help to panic.

The sound of moving water whispered into his ears. His small smile turned into surprise when he tripped over a rock for the umpteenth time. Another thing he hated about the dark. He could never stop tripping.

"Great," Quatre said from his position on the floor. "I'm trapped in some underground cave with no way out, it's so dark I'm tripping over my own feet, Heero thinks I'm a crybaby, and I'm scared!" A few tears escaped his eyes and dripped onto his hand. "I shouldn't be here. I'm not strong enough or brave enough. I'm useless." He curled up against the wall, legs drawn to his chest and head buried in his knees. He cried.

* * *

Duo was pacing. He had been pacing since Wufei explained the situation. And he hadn't stopped pacing. It was getting on the dragon's nerves but he didn't say anything, knowing the imp was worried for his friends like he himself was.

"We just gotta find 'em! I'm sure Heero's doing okay, waitin' for us to get our lazy asses in gear, but Quatre... Kat's still new to the outside world. He's just beginning to understand his powers and all the crazy things happening around him. Kat's still an innocent kid."

"Don't doubt his strength," said Trowa.

Wufei nodded. "Quatre's powers manifested once before in a dire situation. Maybe it will happen again. In the mean time, we should find the landslide."

"Why?" asked Duo.

"When Heero realizes there is no exit to the cave, he'll go to the landslide," explained Wufei.

"And he'll try to move the rocks!" finished Duo. "Then what are we waiting for!?" Duo took to the skies and began his search.

Trowa nodded to Wufei. "You go ahead. I'll go into the town and get some supplies. We lost some in the landslide."

Wufei nodded. "Take Fang with you." He too took to the air, his dragon wings beating strongly to catch up to Duo.

Trowa called to Fang before venturing off.

* * *

Quatre pushed himself to stand, the crying fit taking some of his energy as the tears dried. He walked the short distance to water and washed his face, taking the occasional sip of water. He spun his fingers in the water, giggling as the fish chased them and tried to take a bite.

"Are you really trapped in this cave? How could you live in such darkness without knowing any light?" Quatre sighed and stood once again. It was best to head back to Heero before the older boy worried. Then again, could he really worry? He seemed so detached from the world and the others.

"_You have an important purpose. You can't afford to take risks on behalf of something as insignificant as a sparrow."_

But nothing it insignificant, thought Quatre. I wonder what made him say that.

Suddenly, the ground shook under him. Shouting in surprise, he fell.

Heero sat up straight when he felt the earth shake. He jumped when he heard Quatre's shout. He ran down the cave, barely able to stay on his feet when the ground shook again. This wasn't and earthquake, he realized. This was something different.

He found Quatre curled up with his head covered. Rocks and dirt was falling from the ceiling. Not enough for a cave in, but it still worried the human. Then it hit him. The smell! It was similar to the explosives he had got from Howard. They very things he wished he had since the discovery of no exit was being used right above them!

Another explosion caused more rocks to fall. He rushed over to Quatre and covered the young blonde. Quatre gasped in surprise before clinging to him. He was scared, Heero realized by the shivering. Beyond scared, he was terrified. Heero held onto him tighter, feeling a need to protect the young phoenix that when beyond duty.

The explosions stopped and the dust settled. They waited a little longer before sitting up. The sunlight burned at their eyes. A rattling sound echoed from above as a form appeared in the sunlight.

"Well, well, look what we have here," said a feminine voice dripping with venom. "A trapped guardian and hissss charge. I'll help you out. Jusssst give me the Phoenix and I'll be on my way."

"Never," declared Heero. He pulled out his sword and squinted his eyes at the light. Just his luck. An enemy appears and he's blind as a bat.

"Oh I'm ssssorry. I wassssn't aware I wassss giving you a choice."

* * *

Yume- And that's a wrap for this chap.

Minako- Rhyme!

Bright- Good job, Ag-er Yume.

Yume- Yes. I was on a roll when Bright sent this to me. I hope you enjoed this.

all- RnR!


	8. To Fight Or Not?

Yume- I finally finished typing!

Bright- Hey, this doesn't end at Sank Kingdom.

Yume- sweatdrop The last scene was too cute I had to end there.

Minako- Insert Disclaimer Here.

* * *

**Phoenix**

Chapter 9: Shall I Fight?

Heero and Quatre rolled out of the way as the snake woman dove at them. The human stood and drew his sword.

"Sssso, you'll resssisst, will you? I think I sssshould warn you, a sssword wont do you any good."

Heero grunted. His eyes were adjusted to the light pouring in from above.

"Wh-who are you?" asked Quatre from his position behind his protector, his voice quiet and fearful.

"Oh me? I am Dorothy. I'm here to take you home, baby bird."

"You'll have to get through me," growled Heero.

"Oh, alright. I guesssss I could have a lunch break."

"Hn." Heero readied himself for an attack.

Dorothy lunged at Heero. He dodged, pushing Quatre the other way.

"Climb out. I'll distract her," he ordered the blonde.

Quatre stumbled toward the opening. He looked up at the hole. He had never tried flying without something to jump off of. Quatre glanced back at the mercenary. Heero was having difficulty hitting the snake-woman. The way things were going the human would need help.

Quatre took a step forward.

No! He couldn't! He couldn't risk using that power; that fire. It was out of control!

_"It was a controlled fire, directed at exactly what was threatening you."_

But Trowa was wrong. It was wild! It had scared Quatre. Maybe if he had practiced, then he could help Heero.

Right now there was only one thing he could do. He had to find the others.

The little phoenix glanced around and spotted a boulder he could use as leverage to get airborne. He climbed up, casting worried glances over at Heero.

Heero swung at the snake beast, once again missing his target. He was getting annoyed.

"Isss that the besssst you can do?" hissed Dorothy as she slithered away from another strike. She noticed that her target was about to escape. Just when Quatre jumped into the air, Dorothy's tail lashed out and caught him by his leg.

"AH!" Quatre cried out in surprise as he was pulled down to the ground.

"Quatre!" called Heero.

"Now, now. I can't have you fly away now." Dorothy's tone dripped with venom.

Quatre grimaced as he tried to sit up. The grip on his leg was too tight!

"Now, what will you do?"

_I have to try. I have to use the fire_, thought Quatre. With a deep breath, he plunged himself into that pit of fire that rested within him.

* * *

Trowa was walking back from town with Fang at his side. He wondered if the others had made any progress. Suddenly Fang took off barking. Startled, Trowa followed. An explosion ahead of him made his run faster. 

Quatre! Heero!

* * *

"Duo," called Wufei. 

"What?" the sulking imp asked.

"Look." Wufei pointed off to the distance.

Duo looked over and noticed a wall of fire. "So?"

"You baka!" The dragon smacked Duo upside the head. "Heero and Quatre are in trouble!"

Duo rubbed at his head and then jumped up. "Kat has fire power!" He took to the sky. Wufei rolled his eyes and followed.

* * *

"Agh!" cried Dorothy. The fire was too hot for her to handle. She glared at its cause. 

Quatre sat with his knees drawn to his chest, arms locked around his legs. His face was buried in his knees.

"Damn it!" screamed Dorothy. She couldn't stand the heat much longer. She growled before slithering away.

Heero found the heat unbearable. He noticed Dorothy leaving, yet the fire didn't stop. He looked over at the huddled form of Quatre. The boy didn't seem to notice the fire around him. He had to snap Quatre out of it before they were burned to a crisp. Or to be more exact, before he was burned.

Heero carefully maneuvered around the fire, calling out to Quatre. Heero was sweating and panting by the time he reached the young boy's side.

"Quatre. Quatre!" called Heero. "It's Heero. You've got to take control."

"I can't," murmured Quatre so quietly Heero almost couldn't hear it.

"Yes you can! Now focus!"

Quatre cringed at the tone but obeyed. Heero felt a little guilty but shook it off. Now was not the time for emotions. Quatre took a deep breath, trying to calm himself and draw the fire back in. He jumped slightly when he felt Heero lay a comforting hand on his shoulder. It seemed that was all he need to clear his mind of doubts. The fire died away.

Heero sighed in relief, feeling cool air from above fill the cave. He felt something fall onto his shoulder. Looking to his side, he was met with a blonde head. Quatre had passed out.

* * *

Trowa, Duo, and Wufei met up at the large crevice, Fang barking down into the hole. At the same time, Heero climbed out with Quatre on his back. The wolf licked at the two lost party members before Wufei pulled him away. 

"What the hell happened!?" shouted Duo.

"Just ran into some trouble. Quatre exhausted himself," explained Heero in a casual tone.

"What kind of trouble?" Duo demanded.

"There's a town not to far from here," said Trowa. "Then just a few miles off is the Sank Kingdom border."

Heero nodded. "Let's go." The dragon, elf, human, and wolf began to walk away,

"Hey! I asked a question here!" Duo ran after them.

* * *

Quatre sat up and stretched. Releasing a loud yawn as he rubbed at his eyes. He looked around. He was in a hotel room. A window to his right was slightly open and showed the night sky. Next to his bed was an oak nightstand with a candle flickering on it. On the other side of the nightstand was another bed. Across from Quatre was a red couch. 

The door to the left of the couch opened, calling Quatre's attention to Duo.

"Hey there, Pryo-Kitty!" Quatre rolled his eyes. It seemed the imp had an endless supply of nicknames for him. "I brought ya some food from the hotel's kitchen. We have some soup, bread, and milk for the Kitty Kat." He handed the food to Quatre.

"Thanks, Duo," laughed Quatre.

"Soooo…. Heero told us what happened."

Quatre sighed. "I can't believe I let the fire run wild like that. I wanted to help, but I didn't think I could."

"It's our own fault," said Wufei as he entered. "We were waiting to get you a weapon before starting your training. We failed to anticipate that the Beasts would try again so soon after their first attack."

"We'll just start the training now. We could stay here for a day. Your sister gave us plenty of money to spend," said Trowa. He and Heero joined the others inside.

"Yeah! Quatre, if you're loaded why didn't you tell us? I didn't find out until we got here," whined Duo.

Quatre smiled. "Professor H thought it best to train me outside of town. We were just staying in the cabin for awhile."

_Professor H_? thought Heero. _I'm sure I've heard J mention him before._ He decided to think about it later. Heero pushed away from the wall, which he had been leaning against and entered. "Enough. Let Quatre eat. We'll start training in the morning."

"Hey! This is my room too! You can't kick me out!" complained Duo. Heero just glared at the imp who grumbled. He left the room, following Trowa and Wufei to the diner.

Heero turned back to the small blonde in their care. "Duo and Trowa will be sharing this room. Wufei and I are in the next room to the left." He turned to go.

"Wait, Heero. I'm sorry about before." Quatre looked down at his food. "I should have tried harder."

"You beat yourself up to much." Quatre looked up to see Heero standing next to him. The older boy placed a hand on his head. "You're doing fine for just awakening to your destiny. Besides, maybe some of Duo will rub off on you and the other way around. Kami knows he needs to calm down."

Quatre couldn't resist giggling.

"Now eat and get some rest. We'll start training early tomorrow morning."

Quatre watched him leave. Fang entered the room before Heero closed the door and walked over to the boy. Quatre reached out at scratched at his head. "Heero's a real nice guy, isn't he Fang?"

* * *

Yume- See, a cute ending.

Bright- Now what do we do. I wrote about Sank.

Yume- Hm… let's think.

Minako- Don't take to long.


	9. Learning

Yume- Yay! Bright finished! And what a wonderful chapter it is.

Bright-

Disclaimer- Own nothing.

* * *

Chapter 9- Learning 

"Practice calling the fire and then damping it down again," Wufei had instructed.

Easier said then done.

Quatre sat on a rock in the middle of an irrigation pond. He stared at the few scraps of bark Wufei had left.

"Come on FireQuat! Burn baby Burn!" called Duo from the shore with an encouraging grin.

Heero grunted.

"Don't disrupt his concentration," whispered Trowa.

I know the fire is inside of me thought Quatre. He could feel it inside. He glared at the bark and kindling. Nothing happened. He tried imagining it heating up and bursting into flame. Nothing happened. He tried reaching inside himself and touching the light and fire but nothing happen. NOTHING!

"BURN!" shouted Quatre angrily. Nothing happened.

Trowa kicked off his shoes and pulled off his shirt and swam lithely out to Quatre.

"I don't know what I'm doing wrong." Quatre whispered as the elf came near.

"Think about what happened with Dorothy and Heero. Recreate that in your mind. Don't worry about me. I'll duck under the water if things get out of control."

Quatre nodded listening to Trowa with wide eyes and a serious expression before closing his eyes in concentration. Heero had been in danger. Quatre had been in danger. There was fear. It was dark. Dorothy's presence had tainted the air with malice. Desperation... The fire was there, inside his despair and need but what did despair have to do with a few scraps of bark and twigs?

"Is it going to take all day just for the first spark?" asked Duo trying to keep his voice down. Quatre just seemed zoned out on his rock out in the pond. If Trowa wasn't an elf he'd probably be half frozen and water logged by now. It had been a long time, thought Duo.

It was all of a sudden. There was nothing and then there was fire. The whole rock was a flame. Trowa had ducked under the water and swam further away. It lasted a moment or two and then it dampened down to what looked like a campfire centered on where the kindling had been. The kindling was ash but a small fire burned there for a good solid minute or two and then died away.

"YOU DID IT!" hollered Duo with a cheer.

Quatre gave a small smile in return. Trowa who was nearest saw that the smile didn't quite reach the young firebird's eyes. "That was good Quatre," Trowa spoke with gentle encouragement.

Quatre didn't answer. The fire felt like… Quatre thought to what he knew about the legends of the phoenix. The phoenix died in fire to be reborn in ash. A little fire was like a little death. It wasn't quite the same thing but it felt horrible. However, they needed him to be the phoenix. That need was desperate. That was where the fire was hiding.

Quatre practiced with various objects flammable and less flammable until he was better at giving the fire direction and keeping it controlled from the first burst of fire. They stopped as soon as he started to look tired.

"Will you be able to control it in combat?" Heero asked seriously.

"I don't know."

If Quatre had expected to hear a reproach at his answer, he was surprised when Heero merely nodded and ordered him to go eat a good dinner and get some sleep.

Quatre would keep practicing. They continued on to Sank, which was only two or three days away.

The Great Sank library was a part of an ancient center of learning. The school was huge consisting of seven separate buildings each a maze of class rooms, laboratories, conservatories, one grand auditorium, several lesser lecture halls, four separate gymnasiums, a small museum and art gallery and countless small oubliettes that stored the treasured junk of the ages.

Wufei reported to the others on his findings. "They've recently restricted public access to the library. In order to get in we need to be students."

"Can we break in, look up what we need and sneak out again?" suggested Duo.

Wufei frowned sharply. "No. It may take days or weeks of study to find the information we are looking for. Archival research takes time."

"I'll go register us," spoke Heero in a no-nonsense matter. "Guard the phoenix."

Quatre who had been wrestling with Fang frowned a little, unhappily. "My name is Quatre. Not, the phoenix," he protested quietly.

Fang gently grabbed a wing in his teeth pulling Quatre over and playfully licked Quatre's face. Quatre dutifully ignored Heero's cold manner and hugged Fang instead.

* * *

"I want to register 4 new students," Heero explained to the registrar. 

"You will need to complete placement tests. The tuition fees are listed here. If you require student housing the fee is listed here. You are in luck. There are vacancies this year. …" The registrar prattled on about all the details of registration.

Heero filled in all of the forms and took the invoicing information along with a selection sheet for classes. He signed them up for two double occupancy dorms. Then took all of the information back to the others.

"What about me?" asked Quatre.

"We will have to sneak you in under cover of darkness, then you'll have to stay in the dorm. We will arrange the schedules so that there is always someone with you," explained Heero. The wings meant Quatre had to stay out of sight.

Duo and Wufei were sharing a room, which was probably a receipt for trouble, but Duo had insisted and Wufei agreed. Wufei did not want anyone to get the idea that the imp had gotten the best of him and he couldn't handle sharing a room.

* * *

Quatre sat in the dorm room drumming his fingers on the desk. They'd tossed a big old cloak over him and snuck him in at night but now everyone was off at class and Quatre was stuck in the room alone. 

The dorm building had all hardwood floors and beautiful hardwood paneling, exposed timber framing on the roof. "Dumb old fire trap," muttered Quatre who couldn't even safely practice calling fire. He was bored out of his mind. "Dumb old Heero." He closed his eyes and thought of Fang reaching out with his empathy. Fang was having fun in the forest out of town chasing rabbits.

"…tasty rabbit.." an odd echo like voice whispered in Quatre's head. Quatre wasn't sure where it was his own mind voice imagining himself to be Fang in empathy or what. He shook his head to clear away the cobwebs.

"Dumb old Fang. Dumb old rabbits," muttered Quatre.

Of course none of this was the source of the problem that kept Quatre hidden away.

"Dumb old wings," but then Quatre was perfectly aware of what the problem was.

* * *

Heero, Duo, Wufei and Trowa stood in front of the class waiting to be introduced. Oddly enough it was the crown princess herself doing the introducing. Duo and Wufei had made their wings disappear. Duo's tail was stuffed down his pants, a practice that made him look like an ordinary boy though it was uncomfortable and made him even more restless than normal. Trowa had brushed his hair over his pointed ears and his long bang hid the exotic not quite human look of his face. Heero's fists were clenched and his expression was serious and stern. There was a good reason for this. 

Seated in the third row, looking for all the world like an ordinary human, except for strange forked eyebrows was Dorothy. She smiled a sly challenge in Heero's direction.

Princess Relena cheerfully finished her welcome that took her seat. Heero was not happy to see her sit right next to Dorothy. Like best friends Relena whispered to Dorothy happily. Heero could just barely over hear.

"The one with the messy hair and serious expression is kind of dreamy."

Dorothy answered back playfully encouraging, her eyes never leaving her focused challenging stare, "Oh yes, he's a sexy hunk of man, that one. You should ask him if he'd like to join you for a picnic or something."

Heero made sure they took seats in the back of the class so he could keep an eye on Dorothy. It got worse. Dorothy seemed to have every class they did.

Heero was less than pleased when just after lunch in Art Appreciation class a small blonde with the proudest, brightest smile and no visible wings was introduced.

Dorothy looked tickled pink.

* * *

Useless trivia for the day: 

oubliette – technically a dungeon with a trapdoor in the ceiling as its only means of entrance or exit. Taken from the french verb: to forget _oublier. _The intent of sticking someone in an oubliette was to forget about him and let him rot there.

The word is used improperly here to describe those rooms in schools that are always locked but secretly hide the lost treasures of the school or students past. My old school supposedly had violins once. I took every opportunity to get in one of those locked doors I would search for the lost violins. I found old texts, past students projects, a few antique reel-to-reel movie projectors, old set props from plays, rifle range and endless fascinating but unidentifiable items but I never found the lost violins. I did find a cello once.


End file.
